ioki, the tech company specialising in digital public transport, and subsidiaries of Deutsche Bahn, is simplifying the navigation and route management of buses and rail replacement services with its new ioki Route software. In doing so, ioki is tackling some of the most pressing challenges facing the public transport industry: reducing accidents and wrong-way driving. Measures can be implemented on an ad-hoc basis, as is often necessary in rail replacement services, for example. In the event of an operational deployment of personnel with unknown routes, reliable operation is guaranteed. ioki Route is characterised by an easy-to-use app for drivers and a separate control centre system. Initially only developed for the German market, the software is set to be rolled out across Europe in the course of 2024.
Efficient, fast, safe
The system offers precise route navigation and route adjustments in real time, simplifying training and ensuring increased safety for drivers on new routes. In addition, ioki Route helps to avoid accidents that can be caused by bridges that are too low, for example. The requirements for use are extremely simple. The ioki Route app currently runs on all commercially available Android smartphones and is based on familiar navigation apps. In addition, the ioki Route software for the control centre ensures that routes can be created and changed quickly and seamlessly. This user-friendly solution also comes into its own in rail replacement services – especially when time is of the essence.
“ioki Route is a real game changer for transport companies and their employees. We want to make it as easy as possible to use – simply download the app, select the bus type and route and bus drivers will be able to travel comparatively safely through traffic,” says Managing Director Dr. Michael Barillère-Scholz, summarising ioki’s latest development. “We are convinced that digital public transport increases the attractiveness of everyday mobility for passengers, employees and transport companies. With ioki Route, we are implementing this maxim in scheduled services.”
Software development with and for the industry
ioki Route is the result of a Research & Development project together with the Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG). They are Germany’s largest local transport company and are committed to tackling the major ecological and social challenges of future mobility. Over the past few months, ioki’s development team has been working with BVG’s bus and operations experts to optimise the user-friendly app. BVG will soon be using ioki Route on bus routes in Berlin’s complex urban transportation network.
Initial use of the software in the Rhineland-Palatinate city of Speyer confirms the intuitive operation of ioki Route for both drivers and employees in the control centre. DB Regio Bus Mitte, bus service providers and subsidiaries of Deutsche Bahn, have been using the software for up to 200 bus drivers on nine bus routes in and around the city since the timetable change in December 2023.
